Tim Muffett - Questions and Answers

Name? Tim Muffett

Age? 33

Where are you from? Brought up in Enfield, now live in East Dulwich, South East London.

How did you get started in broadcasting? Pretty much knew what I wanted to do from about 16, namely journalism of some sort – either press or broadcast. Whilst at Birmingham University I regularly bunked the odd lecture to hold down a part time job at BBC Radio WM, answering phones, greeting guests etc reasoning that even if it led to gaps in my knowledge of medieval history then it was a risk worth taking. After leaving uni in 1994 I managed to get a job at long-defunct London cable station Channel One as a Videojournalist – a completely multiskilled introduction to tv news. My boss was Nick Pollard who later offered me a job at Sky News in 1997. Joined the BBC in 2002. Have worked on Breakfast since 2004.

Why News broadcasting? On a good day it can combine adrenalin, excitement, the challenge of story telling and a chance to meet a complete variety of people in all sorts of different places. Obviously not every day is a good day, but even still it is a great area in which to work.

Where else would have viewers seen or heard you before? I was at Sky News for five years, including two as Los Angeles Correspondent and Liquid News for a year and a half.

What is your Best on-air moment? Professionally, being in New York shortly after the 9/11 attacks was like nothing else. I was in Toronto at the time of the attack, and arrived that night. Most UK reporters couldn’t get there for several days. On a lighter note, attending the premiere of Pearl Harbour on an aircraft carrier in Hawaii was certainly fun – even if the film was pants.

What is your Worst on-air moment? I often read the news at Channel One, which for some reason was all prerecorded and played out on a prehistoric tape machine that often went wrong. So once the viewers of Channel One (mercifully few of them) had the pleasure of watching me drink tea, scratch my nose, moan about shift patterns etc for about 5 minutes until someone realised.

What would you like to do before your career ends? Many agree that the BBC’s Ten O’Clock News is the UK’s finest news bulletin – so working on that one day would be a real honour.

What do you like to do in your spare time? Change nappies – I have a 10 month old baby.

What advice would you give to anyone that would like to get into the broadcasting world? It is almost inevitable that you’ll need to do a certain amount of unpaid work at some point. Many find that idea a bit degrading, but it is very likely if you want to get in.

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